The title of my blog describes me to a tee, I recently got back into my love for reading and wanted to share my thoughts. I started enjoying a glass of wine to help me relax and find time for myself by reading a good book.

Friday, July 29, 2016

When Emmett helps Viola on her first day of kindergarten, a friendship is forged. As the years pass, their friendship blossoms. But fate tears them apart just as they are discovering their true feelings for one another. Can their love survive time, distance, and the challenges life throws at them? Only time will tell.

Lola’s parents are hosting their annual New Year’s Eve party. My Dad and Alma are here celebrating with about 100 other adults from town. Lola’s parents relented and told Lola that I could sleep over. We haven’t done this since she was 8 and I was 10; we were told we couldn’t anymore because of something about boys and girls, and birds and bees that I didn’t understand at the time. I understand what they mean now, but they know I want to spend every single last minute by my Lola.

We’re up in her room; away from the party and the adults. We’ve hung more sheets up over the canopy on her bed so it’s like we’re in a tent. We’re both lying on our sides facing each other. Since it will be a long time before I see her again, I’m doing my best to memorize every little detail about her: the number and pattern of freckles on her nose, how incredibly long her eyelashes are, the exact shade of green of her eyes. I trace the shape of her face with my fingertip. She closes her eyes. My eyes focus on her mouth. I trace her lips and lean over and kiss her. Her eyes snap open and fix on mine.

I’ve kissed her almost every single day for the last few years; a peck on the lips or the cheek before I leave for the night. We hug, we hold hands… but something about this moment is very different.

She puts her hands on either side of my face and tells me what I want, what I need to hear.

“I love you, Emmett Allan Davis.”

I hug her to me, putting her head on my shoulder, kissing the top of her hair. We fall asleep clinging to each other like our lives depend on it.

Scarlett Wells has been a voracious reader since she was a toddler sitting in the laundry basket she used to move her library from place to place. Her love of reading has been a constant in her life and ultimately led to her sharing her own stories.

Scarlett is a stay-at-home mom to a sassy, precocious 5-year old, wife to a software engineer (read: geek), and slave to two cats. If she’s not reading or writing, she can be found at Target, trapped under an avalanche of laundry, guzzling wine while she’s cooking dinner, or playing with her munchkin.

After her last relationship ended in the hospital, Lainey Eversman ditched Ohio to start fresh in a sleepy North Carolina town. Her tiny apartment above the Drunken Duck may be cramped, but she’s ready to let her big dreams erase those bad memories.

When she sprains her ankle, she reluctantly accepts Chris Harper’s help to cut her last few ties to Ohio, though she dares not accept anything else from the sexy architect. The last thing she can trust is her instincts when it comes to men.

Chris knew the fiery Lainey was his one and only the moment he set eyes on her. If only she’d let him get closer than arm’s length. But their trip to Ohio cracks the walls shielding her vulnerability, and she finally, hesitantly, takes that last step into his arms.

It’s still going to be tough to convince her to give love a fighting chance—especially with an ex who won’t take “go away” for an answer.

Warning: Contains a small-town hero who’ll do anything to convince a skittish big-city girl that he’s a safe bet. Expect loyal friendships, sweet kisses, and hot, dirty sex in the great outdoors.

Chapter One The idyllic countryside of Lainey Eversman’s new home left a lot to be desired when you were under attack by mutant country spiders. Four weeks ago she’d purchased ten lakeside acres in the lush mountains of North Carolina. Currently she was standing on a rickety kitchen chair swatting at a horde of massive spiders crawling through a crack in her cabin’s ceiling. All the while wishing desperately she’d never left the confines of city life. She was trying admirably to not freak out like a total pansy, but when a shower of leggy spiders fell in her hair she gave up the fight. Giving a little squeak she launched herself from the old wooden chair and began to dance around like a lunatic while brushing her hands madly through her hair. After a brief tussle with her own ego, she finally gave up and headed for a real shower. The kind with water and soap. No one had to know she’d nearly had a meltdown over a few spiders. Those ten acres, so happily purchased a few weeks ago, had come with a tiny hunting cabin. One room encompassing a very small and formerly very dirty shower, a toilet, a kitchen sink the size of her favorite pair of shoes, and a mini fridge fresh out of the box, all in a twelve-by-twelve room. At the time it had seemed like the perfect place to hang tight while she had a place built. In retrospect she should have taken her brother and his girlfriend up on the offer to make use of their guest room until the build was completed. She loved both Cal and Molly, but she had little interest in finding them in compromising positions all over the apartment. Given the pair of them, it would be near impossible to catch them doing anything but getting frisky. The creepy cabin in the middle of nowhere was her home for the duration. It wasn’t so bad, aside from the bugs, the smothering summer heat, and the incessant nature noise. No one ever told her living in the sticks was loud. Since her first week in the cabin she’d been serenaded nightly by an orchestra of bullfrogs, crickets, and assorted evening critters. Every morning the birds woke her at first light. Eventually she’d adjust to the nature sounds, but to date she’d been averaging about six hours a night; not really enough to feel rested. Altogether leaving her just a little bit cranky from lack of sleep. In theory living alone surrounded by nature was an amazing retreat, but in reality it was quite the adjustment for a city girl leaping into the next stage of her life. After scrubbing all the spider particles from every square inch of her body she exited the shower and tossed on a pair of simple cotton panties and the thinnest tank top she could find. It was a beautiful August evening, but the heat of the day hadn’t dissipated enough to leave Lainey comfortable. The heat and humidity left her feeling sticky the moment she toweled off from the shower. Being a half-mile down a winding lane in the middle of nowhere had its perks. Sitting on her miniscule porch in her underwear with her feet propped up was definitely one of them. Well, until she saw a car’s lights turn off the main road and make its way toward the cabin. It could only be a handful of people. Her brother Cal, Cal’s girlfriend Molly, or more likely Chris. Chris the hottie architect that she’d met through Cal and Molly, who was contracted to redesign the coffee shop she’d purchased. Given the light glow of a near full moon, Lainey guessed it to be nearly ten. Rather late for a business meeting. Finally, she determined it was Chris, as his sleek black car eased slowly closer until it was nearly ready to park next to her own car on the far side of the porch. Lost in her own thoughts, she was about to greet the hottie architect in her panties. Dammit. Launching herself to her feet in an effort to reach the front door of the cabin before Chris cleared the porch was easier said than done. In her rush she almost crushed a cricket with a poorly placed foot. Attempting to save the cricket’s life, Lainey lurched to the left and managed to trip over her own feet. Landing in an inelegant pile, she watched the cricket hop away unharmed.

As she was attempting to right herself Chris stepped into view and halted his progress at the foot of the porch.

Nestled away in a small town in Ohio, I spend my days adding delicious books to my library, snuggling with my three rotten dogs, and debating the finer points of life with the dear husband. When I'm not tucked away with a book you can be find me tapping away at my laptop. With coffee. And my playlist.

F*ck being good. When you’ve been screwed over by Mr. Wrong, let a Spectacular Rascal show you how good it feels to be bad.

My best friend and boss at Magnificent Bastard consulting—get revenge on your ex or your money back—is the smooth, successful New York businessman type. But me? I’m the other guy—the one you don’t bring home to mama. The tattooed, rough-around-the-edges, 100% primal badass. I won’t pull out your chair, sweetheart, but I will pull your hair.

I’ve got what it takes to make sure your dangerous dick of an ex thinks twice before he knocks on your door again.

Or I thought I did, until I meet my latest client: Catherine Jones, a.k.a. Polka Dot Panties. Former college running partner, sexiest woman I’ve ever almost de-virginized, and the only girl I’ve never been able to get out of my damn head.

Now my one-that-got-away is looking up at me with those big green eyes, daring me to take on an ex as dick-ish and dangerous as hers.

Well, you know what they say—it’s all fun and games until you’re making out on top of a mobster’s limousine.

Soon Catherine and I are in deep. We’re on guard, on the run, and on top of each other every chance we get. But outsmarting her mobster ex is the least of my worries, especially when I start thinking our falling hard act isn’t an act at all.

But after all this time, can a guy from the wrong side of the tracks find his forever with the sweet and sexy polka-dot-pantied girl next door?

Warning: SPECTACULAR RASCAL is a stand-alone erotic romance told from the hero’s point of view. No cliffhanger. Lots of dirty talk.

U.S.A. Today Bestselling author Lili Valente has slept under the stars in Greece, eaten dinner at midnight with French men who couldn’t be trusted to keep their mouths on their food, and walked alone through Munich’s red light district after dark and lived to tell the tale.

These days you can find her writing in a tent beside the sea, drinking coconut water and thinking delightfully dirty thoughts.

I’m the popular girl at school. The one everyone wants to be friends with. I have the best boyfriend in the world, who’s on the basketball team. My parents adore me, and I absolutely love them. My sister and I have a great relationship too. I’m a cheerleader, I have a high GPA and I’m liked even by the teachers. It was a night which promised to be filled with love and fun until…something happened which changed everything.

Dragging myself out of the gymnasium and down the hall, I try and get to the side double-doors. But with no one here to help me, it's difficult. I need to sit for a moment out on the steps leading to the back field and gather myself.

My legs become heavier as I get to the doors. The cyclone happening inside my head is growing thicker while my vision is so unclear I can barely make out any objects.

Stumbling down the first step, I barely recognize where I am.

“What’s happening?” I think I say.

There’s a cacophony of dense sounds; a combination of white noise, mumbling, and a beat which doesn’t make sense.

My eyes are now so heavy I can barely open them and my legs are completely weighted as I attempt to make my way down the stairs. I think I’m going to pass out.

Author Bio

There's something about the written word that is pure magic.

Possibly it's the fact there are 26 letters in the English alphabet, and they can create something so beautiful or so empowering they're capable to change our lives.

How important is it that we break suit and stretch our minds?

I like to think of myself as 'unique'. My stories aren't for everyone, and sometimes I may push what you believe to be 'normal'.

Normal is subjective.

I prefer to be known as a person who's never been 'bound by custom' but is 'unique by choice'.

She was the
one for me.The one that
I knew would be mine forever until I made the biggest mistake. I pushed her
away and I’ve regretted that decision ever since. I’ve tried to move on, tried
to put the memory of her behind me, but she’s always consuming my thoughts.
Now, she’s back in our hometown, trying to rebuild a new life. I know she’s
keeping secrets. She tries to hide them from me, and I will do whatever it
takes to prove that I’m the one she needs. Because Shelby Ross is the other
part of me that I can’t live without and I refuse to let her go again.

Shelby

He broke my
heart.

I never thought I would be able to pick up the
pieces he left behind. When he let me go, I ran away from it all, thinking it
was the easiest thing to do. But, running has a price and I’ve paid it in full
for years. Now, I’m back where it all began, back to putting my life together
and starting over. It should’ve been easy, but Carter Harlow is reawakening
long buried emotions that I thought were gone. He wants to make me his again. I
can’t let that happen. He ruined me, broke me, and I’m afraid I’ll never
survive it a second time around.

We lived in the same small town where you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing a familiar and friendly face. I was five years old and he was six. I remember that day, perfectly. We were at school, playing outside during recess. The school year was almost up, and it was a hot sunny day. The kids in my class played chase, or were in the sandbox making sandcastles. I was sitting on the swing, in my own little world. I didn’t know how to swing yet without someone pushing me. My legs dangled, and I kicked the pebbled rocks with the tip of my shoes. I watched the other kids playing, seeing they all had a playmate. It made me sad and envious that I didn’t have that. All I wanted was someone to push me on the swing. I didn’t have any friends back then, and maybe Carter knew what a lonely little girl I was.

Looking back, I didn’t understand why my Mom didn’t want anything to do with me, or why my Dad always smelled funny. But, Carter didn’t make fun of my dirty clothes, or say anything about how I hadn’t bathed in a week. He walked right up to me, touched my hand holding tightly onto the chain of the swing, and looked right at me.

“I’m Carter. What’s your name?”

I squinted my eyes at him, wondering if he was about to comment on why I was alone. Most kids made fun of me because I didn’t have any friends. They would tease me relentlessly, but it seemed like Carter wasn’t like the other kids at school. “Shelby.”

He stared at me for a moment, then asked, “Can I push you?” I smiled brightly and nodded eagerly. All I wanted was a friend, someone to play with me. Carter took his hand off mine, and walked behind me. He grabbed a hold of the chains, and began to push me. I remembered laughing loudly, loving how high he pushed me. I also remembered holding on tightly to the chains, and looking around the playground at the other kids. They didn’t pay us any mind, and I told Carter to push me higher and higher. He did as I asked, laughing right along with me. I finally had someone to play with, and I felt happy. For the first time in my life, I felt just like all the other kids. I felt normal. I remembered how in just a short amount of time, I felt accepted.

When the bell rang for us to go back inside, Carter slowed me down, and helped me off the swing. He held my hand as we walked back into the building, and I started to dread him letting my hand go, and heading back to his class. I didn’t want him to leave me. “Don’t worry, Shelby. I’ll see you after school.” He told me once we stopped at my classroom. I grinned, and nodded at his promise. That one simple promise meant the world to me, and even if I didn’t have any friends in my class, I knew I gained a new friend with Carter. When he met me right outside my classroom at the end of the day, I knew at the tender age of five, Carter would always keep his promises. Even though we’d just met, we shared a bond, something special.

Thinking about it now, I was way too young to understand the connection we had. There was just something about that sweet, young boy. He quickly became my best friend, and there was hardly any moments when we weren’t together.

Now that I’m older, I still don’t understand the connection we had back then. Even when Carter and his family opened their arms and home to me when I needed them the most. I still didn’t understand why he wanted to be around me. No one else in my family cared anything about me, and it was inevitable for me to fall head over heels in love with him. It didn’t happen suddenly. It happened slowly over the years, slowly changing our relationship into something I couldn’t live without. There are so many things I still look back on, and I try to figure out why Carter and I were so drawn together. Why, after everything we went through, he could just … let me go. I thought what Carter and I had was special, one of a kind. But, everything changed once Carter left for college.

When Carter Harlow broke my heart, I did what I knew best.

I ran.

Author Bio

Brie Paisley is a small
town gal from Mississippi. She always wanted to write at a young age and was
always filling journals with her thoughts and short stories. Brie started with
the idea of Worshipped a year ago and with the encouragement of her husband and
sister in law, she was able to write her first book. When she is not writing,
you can find her reading a good book, painting, scrapbooking, or watching a
good movie with her husband and her boxer.

Perfection slipped through Caroline Spencer's fingers. One moment she had it all, and then it was gone. All she has left are her memories, her pain, and her close friends.

And Mason Ryan was not part of her plan--wasn't even on her radar. After all, he was her husband's best friend. But now that her husband is gone, he's the only person who understands her, feels what she feels, and knows her inside and out.

Together, they try to rearrange the shattered pieces of their pain.

Sharing their grief pulls them closer together--closer than either of them want to admit and Mason won't allow himself to fall for his best friend's widow. Ultimately, he's holding the one secret that will destroy Caroline--a secret he cannot even bear himself.

Will they find a way to refresh their lives when the pain of the past won't dissolve?

"Let me add," she says with a smirk, "sex and Mason are like desserts." "What?" I burst out laughing. "Now listen to me. Sex and Mason are like desserts. There are many sides of Mason and sex consists of different positions all of this like dessert. You see a dessert case and there's everything from fruit tarts to red velvet cake to brownies." "I'm getting hungry now, thanks." "Oh shut up," Tonya laughs and continues with her ridiculous explanation. "These two things go hand in hand. So you can take your time and look at these yummy desserts the way you look at Mason and sex and then when you're ready you'll pick the best most delicious dessert and boom, you and Mason will be having boom boom time." "I can't even with you." I laugh and wipe my tears from laughing so hard. "You're too much."

"Dessert equals Mason and sex. Remember, variety and different tastes!"

Author Bio

S.Moose is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, living in Webster, NY with her family, friends, and shorkie, Charlie.

A 2011 St. John Fisher graduate, S.Moose loves to read and write. She enjoys getting lost in the fictional world and creating a place where readers can fall in love and swoon over the cute boys she brings to life. When she isn't in her room in front of her computer or a book, she is with her family and friends being silly and enjoying life. She's romantic at heart and loves anything with a happily ever after.

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